The Peacock Room Comes to America: Exhibiting Freer’s Bibles

In November 1912 museum founder Charles Lang Freer put two rare biblical manuscripts on public view in his Detroit home. This special installation showcases those antique works—a parchment codex of Deuteronomy and Joshua, and the so-called Washington Codex, the third oldest parchment manuscript of the Gospels—in the unexpected setting of James McNeill Whistler’s Peacock Room. Part of the long-term exhibition The Peacock Room Comes to America, this presentation exemplifies Freer’s cosmopolitan aesthetic philosophy by juxtaposing biblical parchments with ceramics gathered from all over Asia and framed by Whistler’s brilliant blue and gold decorations.

WETA Television and Classical WETA 90.9 FM are community-based public broadcasting stations serving the Washington area and supported by listeners and viewers. WETA is also a major producing station for PBS.

Arlington National Cemetery

This WETA TV 26 production explores the history, mission and daily operations of Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place for more than 400,000 Americans. This revered place honors the dead and brings great meaning to the living.